South by Southwest (SXSW) is a two-week-long film, interactive and music festival in Austin, TX. For 26 years the festival has focused on discovering “the next big thing,” launching the careers of artists like John Mayer and emerging technologies like Twitter and Foursquare.

For years big brands like American Express and Samsung have been part of the festival. But festivalgoers are weary of big brands and feel the festival has become too “corporate.”

To stand out in 2014, Doritos sought to create an authentic and unique SXSW experience for many of the 70 thousand attendees.

To amplify an un-official commercial, the media team relied on online and social channels.

Doritos set challenges—for example, hug a dirty hippie, or help a senior citizen create her revealing online dating profile—to ensure that only the boldest consumers got to be a part of the chip. Footage from those challenges was seeded online in the days leading up to the game.

At the Super Bowl, our fans sat in a triangle formation near the end zone, unveiling their orange jackets after the first play in the first quarter. We bought promoted Tweets during the game to help viewers understand that the big orange triangle they saw in the stands was, indeed, a giant Doritos chip.

PR pushed the story out and fielded questions to make sure Doritos was properly credited. An official from RecordSetter was on hand to guarantee our world record for the largest Human Doritos Chip.

• 14 thousand+ Bold Missions completed (each with a social share via Twitter, Instagram or Vine)

• #BoldStage national trending topic on Twitter (30 thousand+ Tweets to 262 million+ followers)

• Coverage of BoldStage was picked up in online and print publications such as Rolling Stone and USA Today, while prime-time broadcast hits included E! and Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• 3.5 billion+ PR impressions (a 15% increase over last year’s SXSW program)

• 1 million+ viewers on the Fuse TV broadcast

• The most buzzed-about brand at SXSW

• Frito-Lay called it “the most successful marketing program in Frito-Lay history.”